Cat Driver wrote:Perhaps a mental weakness is more likely.
Perhaps it is a mental weakness and not an addiction to a chemical substance.
For sure I was addicted.
However I did seek help from AA twice and eventually admitted myself to a chemical addiction treatment center which at the time was very expensive...$12,000 in 1985.
The treatment worked and my life was extended.
Using your suggestion that it is a mental weakness, how did I manage to finally find a cure?
Was it random chance that finally cured my problem and I am still mentally weak?
There are probably guys who try the Schtik thing, give up and AA works for them. Each mind is different.
Schick Shadel uses drug treatment including sodium pentothal to reprogram the memory area of the brain and for me it worked.
Chemical addiction? Of course as humans we are just a bunch of chemicals acting in concert together to form life. Every thought and action requires chemical process. I'm no expert on the subject of addiction but....someone mentioned about crack. Well, any one of us can become a crack addict as it is very physically addictive(although it takes the initial mental stupidity to try hard drugs before you are addicted). So is caffeine apparently.
There seems to be other addictions that are mentally so. Gambling, booze, even these video games. I got into the video game one a few years back and spent hours and hours trying to reach a certain level in a video game. There was mental reward and desire from the game. Different but with some similarities. Of course, I eventually overcame it. I would say you overcame your mental weakness with your therapy.
To quote a very successful doctor in New York that uses sodium pentathol for alcaholism...
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/22/nyreg ... ation.html
"Mainstream treatments focus on halting the physical craving and euphoria generated from drugs but Dr. Prasad believes that they are secondary to the thought processes that are the root of the addiction.
''It is not the chemical changes that occur from smoking or drinking alcohol, because how come only one or two out of 10 become addicted?'' he said. ''It is the effect on the mind, the elation, which is an abstract concept. In gambling, where is the chemical reaction? The thrill of winning or losing is registered in the mind.
''Once you try a pleasure-producing experience like smoking, drinking or drugs, your intellect begins to lose control over that activity,'' he continued. ''Your intellect doesn't object the first few times but when it tries to put the brakes on after it is locked into your emotional thought process, it's too late. You are hooked.''
Dr. Prasad views his role as a guide in helping the patient make some mental adjustments. ''Sometimes our internal thought processes are not working in our favor,'' he said. ''I want to help you adjust them so they do work in your favor.''
He calls this adjustment ''fighting fire with fire.'' While the patient is in the semi-sedated state he conducts a coaching session where he uses the patient's emotions and intellect to overwhelm the pleasure or fear that is at the root of the addictions or phobias.
The treatment under sodium pentothal takes about an hour, and it is achieved by using an intravenous drip while the patient is seated."
So yes, you have a mental weakness that you were able to overcome by physical adjustment of the chemicals in your brain. Some have the mental strength to do it without needing this outside help using just their own remaining strength of mind(or willpower) at a place like AA while others don't have that mental strength and require additional help. Whatever works as the most important thing for society is to prevent those with this weakness from acting so irresponsibly due to their weakness of mind that doesn't allow them to put passenger safety ahead of their desire.
That being said, there are no doubt cases where it is a one-off thing where someone just made a stupid decision but is not actually an alcoholic but decided to take the chance after drinking with some colleagues on a layover for example. I suppose they are the types that don't drink alone or every day. But if they happen to get caught, they are able in many cases(especially if they have union support like Gilles) to use the "I have a disease" excuse to preserve their job. In reality, the latter are more likely to never do it again while the real alcoholic likely will.